BY MIKE CREMATA

Wiping out what is arguably the most
comprehensive piece of legislation ever
passed specifically designed to protect
American consumers from Wall Street
would hardly be consistent with “draining
the swamp.” It would also play right
into the hands of Democrats, who have
recently hammered President Trump for
filling his administration with former Wall
Street executives.

Moreover, even if President Trump
did want to repeal Dodd-Frank, he simply
doesn’t have the votes to get it through
Congress. Senate Democrats would
undoubtedly filibuster any such attempt,
and Republicans are eight seats short of
the 60 they would need to overcome a
filibuster. There is, of course, a theoretical
possibility Republicans could exercise the
so-called “nuclear option”—which would
reduce the number of votes needed to

Mike Cremata

With so many
different
possibilities and
perspectives
flying around, it
seems there are
more questions
than answers.

There has been so much specula- tion in the media lately about the future of Dodd-Frank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and
the bureau’s Director, Richard Cordray,
it’s enough to make one’s head spin. And
with so many different possibilities and
perspectives flying around, it seems there
are more questions than answers.

One question at the top of
everyone’s minds: Will President Trump
really “dismantle” the Dodd-Frank
Act, as he said he would during his
campaign? A closer look at the political
realities of his situation suggests that’s
highly unlikely.

Why? For one thing, it would be a
bad move politically. President Trump is
a populist, and polls have consistently
shown that the American populace,
by and large, supports the regulation
of financial institutions. He may have
been elected on a platform of slashing
regulations, but he also promised to